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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. ground — crushed
  5. board — to get on
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fork — in a road
  8. ground — a position
  9. fall — to drop
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pound — a weight
  16. drill — army training
  17. ground — the earth
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. board — a committee
  21. spring — the season
  22. fall — the season
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cell — in biology

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com